(CONSENT) Kolb v. County of Placer ( 2019 )

1 OFFICE OF THE PLACER COUNTY COUNSEL Gregory Warner (SBN 282490) 2 175 Fulweiler Avenue Auburn, California 95603 3 || gwamner @placer.ca. gov Telephone: (530) 889-4044 4 Facsimile: (530) 889-4069 5 |JPORTER SCOTT A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION 6 || Carl L. Fessenden, SBN 161494 John R. Whitefleet, SBN 213301 7 || 350 University Ave., Suite 200 Sacramento, California 95825 8 || cfessenden@porterscott.com jwhitefleet @ porterscott.com 9 || TEL: 916.929.1481 FAX: 916.927.3706 10 Attorneys for Defendants COUNTY OF PLACER and DEPUTY CURTIS HONEYCUTT 11 12 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 13 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA i ‘oO |, || SAMUEL KOLB, J.K., by and through his No. 2:19-cv-00079 DB Guardian ad Litem, KARIN KOLB, and 2S 15 |] KARIN KOLB, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER aaa Plaintiffs, 7 V. 18 COUNTY OF PLACER; DEPUTY CURTIS 19 || HONEYCUTT, and DOES 1-10, inclusive, 20 Defendants. 21 / 22 23 Defendants COUNTY OF PLACER, Deputy HONEYCUTT, and Plaintiffs 24 || SAMUEL KOLB, J.K., by and through his Guardian ad Litem, KARIN KOLB, and 25 || KARIN KOLB (“the Parties”) hereby enter a stipulated protective order to facilitate 26 || disclosure of confidential discovery materials in this case. 27 The Parties in good faith believe that certain documents relevant to the above- 28 ||}captioned case qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), {02091178.DOCX} STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 1 including information that is (a) confidential, sensitive, or potentially invasive of an 2 individual’s privacy interests; (b) not generally known; and, (c) not normally revealed 3 to the public or third parties or, if disclosed to third parties, would require such third 4 parties to maintain the information in confidence. 5 These confidential documents include, but are not limited to: 6 1. County Personnel Files of Deputy HONEYCUTT 7 2. Medical records of Samuel Kolb 8 In light of the sensitive nature of the documents potentially to be disclosed, the 9 parties hereby request that any such disclosure be governed by a stipulated protective 10 order. 11 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by, among and between the parties through 12 their respective undersigned counsel of record that: 13 1. Designating Protected Materials: Any party may designate 14 information, regardless of how it is stored or maintained, that qualify for protection 15 under FRCP 26(c) as “confidential” subject to this agreement. Each Party that 16 designates information or items for protection under this agreement must take care to 17 limit any such designation to specific material being produced in conjunction with 18 this action. 19 2. A producing/designating Party may designate protected materials as 20 confidential by affixing a mark labeling them “Confidential,” provided that such 21 marking does not obscure or obliterate the content of any record. If any confidential 22 materials cannot be labeled with this marking, those materials shall be otherwise 23 marked “Confidential.” 24 3. If any document or information designated as confidential pursuant to 25 this Stipulated Protective Order is used or disclosed during the course of a deposition, 26 that portion of the deposition record reflecting such material shall be stamped with 27 the appropriate designation and access shall be limited pursuant to the terms of this 28 Stipulated Protective Order. The court reporter for the deposition shall mark the 1 deposition transcript cover page and all appropriate pages or exhibits and each copy 2 thereof. Only individuals who are authorized by this Protective Order to see or receive 3 such material may be present during the discussion or disclosure of such material. 4 4. Challenging Confidentiality Designations: A party may challenge a 5 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 6 scheduling order. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be 7 on the designating/producing party. Before seeking court intervention, the 8 challenging party shall meet and confer with the producing party. Until the matter is 9 resolved by the parties or the Court, the information in question shall continue to be 10 treated according to its designation under the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order. 11 5. Use of Protected Material: Protected Material shall be produced only 12 to the Parties and to counsel of record for the Parties for the purpose of prosecuting, 13 defending or attempting to settle this action. Receiving parties shall take reasonable 14 steps to prevent disclosure of protected material to any third party. 15 6. Documents or materials designated under this Protective Order as 16 “Confidential” may only be disclosed to the following persons: 17 (a) Parties; 18 (b) Counsel, including their respective associates, clerks, legal 19 assistants, support personnel, investigators, adjusters, and 20 insurance carriers, and other companies retained to provide 21 litigation support services (e.g. photocopy services); 22 (c) Court personnel, including stenographic reporters or 23 videographers engaged in proceedings as are necessarily 24 incidental to the preparation for the trial of the civil action; 25 (d) Any designated or retainer expert, consultant or investigator 26 retained in connection with this action; 27 (e) Any mediator, settlement officer, or the finder of fact at the time 28 of trial; and 1 (f) Witnesses during their depositions in this action. 2 7. Prior to the disclosure of any “Confidential” information to any person 3 identified in paragraph 5, each such recipient of “Confidential” information shall be 4 provided with a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order, which he or she shall read. 5 Upon reading this Stipulated Protective Order, such person shall acknowledge that he 6 or she has read this Stipulated Protective Order and agrees to abide by its terms. Such 7 person also must consent to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States District 8 Court for the Eastern District of California, including without limitation any 9 proceeding for contempt. Provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order, insofar as 10 they restrict disclosure and use of the material, shall be in effect until further order of 11 this Court. The attorneys designated in subparts (a) and (b) of Paragraph 3 above 12 shall be responsible for internally tracking the identities of those individuals to whom 13 copies of documents marked “Confidential” are given. Producing parties may request 14 the identities of said individual(s) upon the final termination of the litigation or if it is 15 able to demonstrate a good faith basis that receiving parties, or agents thereof, have 16 breached the terms of the Stipulated Protective Order. 17 8. Subject to the terms of this Agreement, nothing herein shall restrict a 18 recipient of Protected Material from: (a) making working copies, abstracts, digests 19 and analysis of such information for use in connection with settlement negotiations; 20 or (b) converting or translating Protected Material into a different format for storage 21 or analysis, provided that access to Protected Material, in whatever form stored or 22 reproduced, shall be limited to qualified recipients. 23 9. Filing Protected Material: Any party seeking to file any documents or 24 materials designated as “Confidential” pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order, 25 must comply with Local Rule 141 of the Local Rules of Practice for the United States 26 District Court, Eastern District of California (Local Rules). 27 10. Right to Assert Other Objections/Contest Claims of Privilege: The 28 designation of documents or information as “Confidential” and the subsequent 1 production thereof is without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose the 2 admissibility of the designated document or information. This agreement has no 3 impact on the rights of the Parties to later contest claims of privilege in connection 4 with the documents produced. By entering this agreement, no Party waives any right 5 it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item 6 on any ground not addressed in this agreement. Similarly, no Party waives any right 7 to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 8 agreement. 9 11. Unauthorized Disclosure: Should any information contained in the 10 documents designated “Confidential” be disclosed, through inadvertence or 11 otherwise, to any person not authorized to receive it under this Protective Order, the 12 disclosing person(s) shall promptly (a) inform the producing party’s counsel of the 13 recipient(s) and the circumstances of the unauthorized disclosure to the relevant 14 producing person(s) and (b) use best efforts to bind the recipient(s) to the terms of this 15 Protective Order. 16 12. Inadvertent Production: No information shall lose its “Confidential” 17 status because it was inadvertently or unintentionally disclosed to a person not 18 authorized to receive it under this Protective Order. In addition, any information that 19 is designated “Confidential” and produced by the parties does not lose its 20 “Confidential” status due to any inadvertent or unintentional disclosure. 21 13. Duration: Even after final disposition of this litigation, the 22 confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a 23 producing/designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise 24 directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims 25 and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein 26 after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, re-hearings, remands, trials, or 27 reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications 28 for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. Upon termination of this litigation, 1 the parties agree the Stipulated Protective Order shall continue in force as a private 2 agreement between the parties. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(f), the court will not 3 retain jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of this Protective Order after the 4 action is terminated. 5 14. Final Disposition: After the final disposition of the action, and upon 6 request by a producing Party made, a receiving Party shall return all Protected 7 Material to the producing Party or destroy such material and shall, within 60 days of 8 the request, submit to the producing Party a written certification that (1) identifies (by 9 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed 10 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 11 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 12 Protected Material. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Counsel of Receiving Parties are 13 entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, discovery pleadings 14 and productions, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 15 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, 16 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected 17 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 18 remain subject to this Confidentiality Agreement as set forth in Paragraph 12 19 (DURATION). 20 15. During the pendency of this lawsuit, the Court shall (a) make such 21 amendments, modifications and additions to this Protective Order as it may deem 22 appropriate upon good cause shown and (b) adjudicate any dispute arising under it. 23 Dated: October 11, 2019 KAYE, McLANE, BEDNARSKI & LITT, LLP 24 25 By /s/ Laura Donaldson (authorized 10/4/19) 26 Ronald O. Kaye Laura Donaldson 27 Attorneys for Plaintiff 28 1 Date: October 11, 2019 PORTER SCOTT A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION 2 3 By /s/ John R. Whitefleet 4 John R. Whitefleet Attorney for Defendants 5 6 7 ORDER 8 Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED. 9 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT: 10 1. Requests to seal documents shall be made by motion before the same judge who will 11 decide the matter related to that request to seal. 12 2. The designation of documents (including transcripts of testimony) as confidential 13 pursuant to this order does not automatically entitle the parties to file such a document with the 14 15 court under seal. Parties are advised that any request to seal documents in this district is governed 16 by Local Rule 141. In brief, Local Rule 141 provides that documents may only be sealed by a 17 written order of the court after a specific request to seal has been made. L.R. 141(a). However, a 18 mere request to seal is not enough under the local rules. In particular, Local Rule 141(b) requires 19 that “[t]he ‘Request to Seal Documents’ shall set forth the statutory or other authority for sealing, 20 the requested duration, the identity, by name or category, of persons to be permitted access to the 21 document, and all relevant information.” L.R. 141(b). 22 3. A request to seal material must normally meet the high threshold of showing that 23 “compelling reasons” support secrecy; however, where the material is, at most, “tangentially 24 related” to the merits of a case, the request to seal may be granted on a showing of “good cause.” 25 Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096-1102 (9th Cir. 2016); Kamakana 26 v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-80 (9th Cir. 2006). 27 4. Nothing in this order shall limit the testimony of parties or non-parties, or the use of 28 certain documents, at any court hearing or trial – such determinations will only be made by the 1 court at the hearing or trial, or upon an appropriate motion. 2 5. With respect to motions regarding any disputes concerning this protective order which 3 the parties cannot informally resolve, the parties shall follow the procedures outlined in Local 4 Rule 251. Absent a showing of good cause, the court will not hear discovery disputes on an ex 5 parte basis or on shortened time. 6 6. The parties may not modify the terms of this Protective Order without the court’s 7 approval. If the parties agree to a potential modification, they shall submit a stipulation and 8 proposed order for the court’s consideration. 9 7. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(f), the court will not retain jurisdiction over enforcement 10 of the terms of this Protective Order after the action is terminated. 11 8. Any provision in the parties’ stipulation that is in conflict with anything in this order is 12 hereby DISAPPROVED. 13 DATED: October 11, 2019 /s/ DEBORAH BARNES 14 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28